There are three basic styles of resumes: The Chronological (sometimes called “Reverse Chronological”), The Functional, and The Hybrid (also called the “Combination” resume). A Hybrid resume is a combination of the Chronological and Functional.

The Functional Resume is often the style of choice for those who are changing career paths and wish to highlight skills and accomplishments rather than the occupations they have held. On this type of resume, those accomplishments that are most important are listed first. As well, as pointed out above, job seekers that have gaps in their employment will often create a resume in the Functional style.

A problem with the Functional style is that potential employers may be suspicious of false claims in achievements. If you are going to use this style, be sure to reference a job title, organization or activity where you accomplished the achievement. You will still want to include a Work and Education History on your Resume.

The Hybrid or Combination resume is used when the job titles don’t always reflect the nature of the occupation or skills that were used. Generally with this type of resume, occupations and jobs are still listed chronologically, however skill-sets and accomplishments may be highlighted in between.

Which ever resume format or style you decide upon, get going and get it done!
You’ll need an up to date resume in order to be a job winner!

Evaluating your skills, interests and what you really like to do is one of the most important things you will do when you are unemployed. It is tempting to take the first job offer that comes along, especially when the savings account is being depleted or the unemployment benefits are running out, but will you really be happy working for that employer?

Hopefully this is an excercise you will make yourself participate in long before the unemployment benefits begin to run out. You should do this at the beginning of your job search and it will help you focus on what you are looking for and how you can best provide your services in a valuable manner to prospective employers.

You should ask yourself a number of questions:

1. What are my skills?

What have I learned? While having an education in some field is often considered a skill, there are many other skills that are equally important including the ability to manage time, manage difficult people, using a variety of tools for managing projects.

When you’re thinking about your own skills, think about what others compliment you on and not just what is in your own mind. Often you might hear a compliment from someone about some way you handle stressful situations; this might provide you with insights into what areas of employment you would enjoy the most.

2. What do I like to do?

Let’s face it – even if you have a degree in some area but you hate it, it’s probably time to really examine what you want in life and how you like to spend your time. Being unemployed might actually be the perfect opportunity for you to re-evaluate the career choices you made years ago. If you’ve decided you really dislike the work you thought you would enjoy back when you were making decisions as a teenager or young adult, you’re certainly not alone!

But this might be an opportunity for you to leave the drudgery of something you simply don’t like to do. Be honest here with yourself – this could be the opportunity of a lifetime for you!

3. Do you need more training?

When you’re unemployed, this can be a perfect time to fit in the extra training you’ve been hoping to get, or time to think about what training you’d like to have. When working full time and a day’s work is 8 hours or more, it can be very tiring to focus on night school classes and weekend seminars. But at this time of your life, you might be able to fit in many hours of training in a variety of fields that will help you find the job you are looking for.

Could your computer skills be upgraded? Many high schools and even businesses offer computer software training. How about a money management course? Learning some basic skills in book keeping can help you understand budgets; both in how to create them and following them.

What else would you like to have more training in? Consider even taking self-improvement or self-interest courses that will expand your mind. Even a yoga class could be a helpful thing to do while you are unemployed!

4. Activities In Social Organizations

Have you been active in community organizations and provided volunteer work? Has that provided you with new skills? If you think about it, you’ll probably recognize that you have learned some new things while offering your time in volunteer service that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise. That’s an asset and be sure to include that information on your resume!

On the other hand, if you’re unemployed and have not volunteered your services, consider doing so. One of the advantages of this is that you can include this volunteer time on your resume, and it will explain to prospective employers the gap in time between jobs. It also shows that you’re willing to take charge and do things.

Sitting down with yourself and answering these questions (and others that you yourself may come up with) can be a very insightful time. It is very important and far more effective when you do this with pen and paper. Don’t daydream about your skills and self-evaluation! If you work at it and organize your thoughts, you’ll be that much closer to being a job winner in a position you’ll enjoy.

John’s experience is not unlike that of many newly unemployed. Until you treat job hunting as a full time in of itself, you’re unlikely to get any serious employment prospects. If you’d like to be working 8 hours a day, then what do you have to lose by spending 8 hours each and every day in your job search?

Perhaps before you do anything is to commit to yourself that you’re going to spend the same amount of time looking for a job as you would be working at one. After that, you need to get organized.

One of the best things you can do is start a record where you can note every job you’ve applied for. Note the date you applied, who you spoke with if anyone, and contact information including address and phone number. A spread sheet using Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc will be handy for this purpose. If you’re short of cash and don’t have a spreadsheet utiliy, you can download the free suite of office tools from www.openoffice.org.

The next thing you might want to do is research every possible source of job postings that you can find. In your area, there may be a Government Job Bank office that you can visit. As well, your local newspaper likely has job and carreer postings in their classifieds. Often times, these classifieds are posted online every day too. Think about using sites like Kijijji.com. There are many job listings for specific towns and cities on this website.

In your list, make sure to also include all the people you know. Write down their names and contact information. You never know when someone might discover a job that fits you perfectly – and if they didn’t know you were looking, wouldn’t be able to tell you!

Now, you also need to make sure you have your resume together. This might be a good time to plan to visit the local Government Job Bank or Unemployment Office; often they will have counselors that can help you in putting your resume together.

Now that you’ve got your organization started, set some reasonable daily goals such as:

• Submit 4 resumes per day in response to job postings you find.
• Visit Government Job Bank Office Daily to look for new job postings. You can also meet with others in the same situation and discuss methods they are using in their job search.
• Knock on 4 doors per day. Often, companies that are looking to hire are not advertising in newspapers or online but instead, go through the resumes they have on file. Just because a firm hasn’t advertised doesn’t mean they may not be hiring now or in the near future. The more proactive you are, the greater your chance of success!
• Call up a couple of people on the contact list you made and have a discussion, perhaps an invitation for coffee and let them know you are looking for a job. It’s a small world and sometimes it is knowing others that can help you get in the door to an interview.

Another thing you should consider: Are you willing to relocate? If so, be sure to call contacts in other cities, States and Provinces too!

Stay organized and keep your commitments even when it gets discouraging – you’ll be that much further ahead of those competing against you to find employment in your field. You’ll be the job winner!